Saw this, finally. Given the mixed reviews I went in interested in seeing how such a strong lineup of talent could fuck it up so, and determined to make up my own mind. I emerged pretty mixed on the film myself, probably erring (just) on the side of "it's okay". Cotillard is the standout but Day-Lewis doesn't disgrace himself with fairly average material, and the cinematography (particularly some of the grainy, b/w sequences) make me happy that we haven't succumbed to purely digital cinema yet -- Italy rewards analog photography. But for every one of its good points it seems there are one or two flaws. Structurally, it's an episodic mess that leads nowhere, and nothing to do with Guido's crisis or redemption feels earned. And I don't think I have been ever as annoyed with a character and performance as much as I was with Kate Hudson and surprisingly, Sophia Loren did a little too. As with Memoirs of a Geisha, the concept of characters speaking accented English rather than their original languages infuriated me to no end. Its an insult to the audience and American attention spans specifically.